The Hanko–Hyvinkää Railroad, 1872–1875 ( sv, Hangö–Hyvinge järnväg), was

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

's first privately funded railway. BaldwinHH

Hanko is the southernmost town in Finland. Hanko has a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

which, thanks to its location, can be used for the longest possible time during the sometimes very severe, and freezing, Finnish winters. Because all the other Finnish seaports might be frozen solid during the winter, there was an anticipation for a large amount freight transit traffic. As such, a decision was made to privately fund the railway from Hanko to the Finnish State Railways'

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

–

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of ...

line, with the connection at

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; sv, Hyvinge, ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The city was chartered in 1960. The population of Hyvinkää is (). Its neighboring muni ...

. Work on the new railway began in 1872 with the inaugural run being on October 8, 1873. Owing to insufficient funds, the private company soon got into financial trouble. Facing almost certain liquidation, the railroad company was sold to the Finnish State Railways in 1875. Today, the

Finnish Railway Museum The Finnish Railway Museum ( fi, Suomen Rautatiemuseo) is located in Hyvinkää, Finland. It was founded in 1898 and located in Helsinki. The museum was moved to Hyvinkää in 1974. The museum is on the original station and yard site of the Han ...

is based at the site of the original roundhouse and Hyvinkää railway station buildings in the town of Hyvinkää.

Motive power

As the first private railway company in Finland, the railroad company obtained nine "American style" Baldwin

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four ...

steam locomotives, in addition to four engines of European manufacture.

Current services

VR Group VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...

currently operates passenger services between Hanko and

Karis Karis (; fi, Karjaa ) is a town and former municipality in Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Ekenäs and Pohja to form the new municipality of Raseborg; fi, Raasepori. It is located in the Finnish province of Souther ...

, with commuter services from Karis to

Helsinki Central Station Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) ( HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peo ...

. However, the section between Karis and Hyvinkää is freight-only.

External links

Old photos from the Hanko station and roundhouseFinnish Railway Museum
about the Hanko–Hyvinkää 4-4-0 locomotives, including

of a Baldwin 4-4-0, drafted in the Hanko workshop in 1875.

{{Raseborg Cityscape Railway lines in Finland Railway lines opened in 1873 5 ft gauge railways in Finland

Motive power

Current services

See also

External links